Publications Repository - Helmholtz-Zentrum Dresden-Rossendorf

We study the effects of electrically conducting walls on the interaction between a permanent magnet and a liquid-metal flow in a cylindrical pipe using experiments and numerical simulation. The problem is motivated by Lorentz force velocimetry, where the drag force on the magnet due to the induced eddy currents in the flow is used for flow measurement. Compared with insulating walls, the conducting walls lead to an increased drag force on the magnet. Except for low distances, the experimental results are satisfactorily reproduced in simulations using two different approximations of the magnetic field distribution.